Tipsheet

Why 10 States Want to Sue the EPA Over Wood-Fired Stoves

Climate warriors are after gas stoves, they’re coming for New York City’s iconic pizza establishments over coal and wood-powered ovens, and now, their sights are set on the way many Americans heat their homes.

Ten states are planning to sue the Biden administration for allowing consumers to continue using wood-burning stoves due to their impact on the environment. 

"If newer wood heaters do not meet cleaner standards, then programs to change out old wood heaters may provide little health benefits at significant public cost," reads a 60-day notice of intent sent to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The states planning to sue are: Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

They allege that the EPA’s current standards aren’t good enough and that even if they were, the agency’s testing and certification program is so ineffective that it has failed to ensure those standards.

The EPA declined to comment on pending litigation. [...]

The EPA’s Office of Inspector General, in a report released in February, found the EPA’s 2015 performance standards for residential wood heaters was flawed and said the agency has “approved methods that lack clarity and allow too much flexibility.”

“As a result, certification tests may not be accurate, do not reflect real-world conditions, and may result in some wood heaters being certified for sale that emit too much particulate-matter pollution,” the report said. (AP)

The left's continued targeting of affordable and reliable energy sources in the U.S. comes as China signed off on building the equivalent of approximately two new coal plants per week in 2022 and as the eastern third of America has been blanketed in recent weeks by smoke from the Canadian wildfires.